GM Said to Add Overtime, More Shifts as Clunkers Program Boosts Car Sales [View All]

Source: Bloomberg

Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co., benefiting from the Obama administration’s “cash for clunkers” program, is boosting production at car plants in Ohio and Michigan, people familiar with the matter said.

The ramp-up is part of a broader increase that may be announced this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the schedule isn’t public.

GM has added Friday shifts at its car plants in Orion Township, Michigan, where it assembles the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans, and Lordstown, Ohio, where GM makes the Pontiac G5 and Chevrolet Cobalt compact cars, Chris Lee, a GM spokesman, said. Those plants had been running four 10-hour days each week. The automaker will announce more production plans “mid-week,” Lee said.

“They’re probably seeing some demand that goes beyond what they would deem a boost just from cash-for-clunkers,” said Erich Merkle, president of Grand Rapids, Michigan, consulting firm Autoconomy. “There are signs this economy is going to improve fairly quickly.”

GM plans to add a second shift in Lordstown, said two people familiar with the matter. The Detroit-based automaker is preparing to add overtime and is considering adding a third shift to a plant in Kansas City, Kansas, where it assembles the Malibu and Saturn Aura, said two people with knowledge of the situation.

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